“I also heard that Johan had a score to settle with Kitty, which is why he was looking for her.” Luke stepped closer to Xander, holding the envelope up to indicate its contents. “I heard he was real pissed off.”

“That’s news to me.” Xander had a steely gaze of his own.

“Remind me again,” Luke said, “why you were at Kitty’s apartment on Tuesday.”

“Johan was looking for her. For a job, I think.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I think.” Xander flashed his teeth, then gestured at the envelope. “Listen, I know what you’re driving at, but Johan didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“How can you be so sure?” Luke asked. He assumed the cowboy stance again, his head cocked. “You said yourself that it’s tough to keep tabs on him.”

Xander opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it. His nostrils flared as he took a deep, centering breath. Luke held the stance another ten seconds, then stepped backward. He consulted the script in his mind: Colton moves easily. He’s confident but not cocky, strong but not implacable. A cool smile touches his lips and he nods once. Morricone could score his every move.

“Coroner estimates the time of death to be around midnight last night,” Luke said somberly. “Any idea where Johan was at that time? Or what you were doing, for that matter?”

“Okay.” Xander nodded, held up both hands. The muscles in his face relaxed and he breathed easier. “I was with Johan. We were clubbing in Nueva Vida until three a.m. Slept in the limo all the way home.”

“Nueva Vida?”

“It’s a town out in the desert, close to the Nevada state line. The club’s called Stray Bullets. It’s a refurbished saloon. You know, like in the Old West. Some big bands play there. Foo Fighters. The Chili Peppers. It’s dope.”

“And if I were to take a drive out to Nueva Vida,” Luke said, with no intention of driving anywhere but back to the rental company, then home, “the staff at Stray Bullets would confirm this?”

“No doubt,” Xander replied. “We were in the VIP area. Johan signed us in. There’ll also be a credit card transaction to the tune of three thousand dollars. And you can check with the limo company, too.”

“Oh, I will,” Luke said seriously.

“Sorry to roadblock your line of inquiry,” Xander said smugly, “but we’re rock-solid.”

Yeah, they were. A perfect alibi for a crime that never happened. But truly, the most rock-solid thing here was Luke’s performance. He’d just removed Kitty from Johan’s most-wanted list. Maybe they could celebrate later with beer and nachos.